Back pay win for workers with disabilities

Thousands of workers with intellectual disabilities are close to winning their battle for back pay.

More than 10,000 workers who have been earning as little as 99 cents an hour will be back paid 70 per cent of their claim if new laws are passed next year.

Maurice Blackburn lawyer Josh Bornstein said he was delighted workers with an intellectual disability would be compensated fairly for the systemic discrimination they have suffered.

"The affected workers will receive an amount directly from the government in a scheme administered by the government," he said.

A class action, launched in the Federal Court in 2013, alleged that disabled workers working in Australian Disability Enterprises were being unfairly discriminated against.

The federal government's first attempt to pass a law limiting its liability to 50 per cent of the back pay claim was rejected several times before finally passing last year.

However, the federal government agreed to mediation, which led to a settlement to pay 70 per cent of the back pay claim.

The settlement must be approved by the Federal Court before it goes ahead, which is expected to happen after the new legislation is introduced in February.